Religious Affairs Minister Aneeq Ahmed stated to a Senate panel on Monday that the religious affairs ministry intended to shorten the duration of the Hajj pilgrimage in the new policy, which would shortly be presented to the provisional federal cabinet for approval.
The minister stated that just 46 businesses would perform the Hajj operations from Pakistan during a meeting of the Standing Committee on Religious Affairs and that the Saudi Arabian government had made that decision. He added that the government could do anything about it.
Maulana Abdul Karim, a committee member, warned the audience that if the 905 companies’ operations were consolidated into 46 companies, there would be issues.
Minister Ahmed retorted, “We cannot do much about it, but we can ask for a one-year leniency.”
Maulana Faiz Muhammad, a committee member as well, advised that the new plan be put into effect starting in 2019. He also said that “we have to solve the problem” by speaking with the Saudi Arabian authorities.
The Saudi Arabian authorities, according to the minister, were requested to review the judgment but declined.
He went on to say that a letter might be sent to the Saudi Arabian government informing it that the decision may not be easy to follow because it was made hastily.
According to Ahmed, the Saudi Arabian government intends to double the number of pilgrims to 10 million. He added that the Saudi Arabian government had decided to include Karachi in the Road to Makkah initiative during the upcoming Hajj, even though it was currently solely operating out of Islamabad.
The Hajj Policy 2024 would shortly be submitted to the cabinet for approval, Ahmed said the committee.
He mentioned a plan to shorten the Hajj pilgrimage from 45 to 18 to 20 days starting in the next year.
The minister told the committee that the government will work to maintain parity between the short-term and long-term Hajj expenses.
It would be up to the pilgrims to decide whether they wanted to stay in Saudi Arabia for a long time or not, he said.
A typical 35–50-day Hajj package would cover the price of accommodation a hotel, meals, and transportation. The head of the committee advised that the reduced time frame be spread out across 30 days. The minister retorted that the idea would be taken into account.
The minister dwelt further on the new Hajj program, stating that each pilgrim would receive two suitcases and that if they were misplaced, the QR codes could be used to find them. Additionally, he stated that a mobile SIM card for video calls would be provided by the government for 45 days.
